Legacy, Vol. 6, No. 1, July 2001, p. 16.
An Underwater Archaeology Survey of Old Town Creek near Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site
By Rusty Clark
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In an effort to document and protect any
cultural remains in Old Town creek, Elsie Eubanks and I of the Charles Towne
Landing State Historic Site Archaeology Program, along
with Lynn Harris and Carl Naylor of SCIAA's Underwater Archaeology Division, have
recently been busy with an underwater archaeological survey of a portion of the
creek that borders Charles Towne Landing.
Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site is the location of the first successful European settlement in South Carolina and was established in 1670. The settlers chose this point because it was easily defensible. Old Town creek provided a protected harborage for ships used in trade, one of the settlements primary goals. After 10 years, the settlers moved to Oyster Point, now downtown Charleston. This new settlement had greater appeal as a seaport due to the deep waters of the Ashley and Cooper rivers.
Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site is the location of the first successful European settlement in South Carolina and was established in 1670. The settlers chose this point because it was easily defensible. Old Town creek provided a protected harborage for ships used in trade, one of the settlements primary goals. After 10 years, the settlers moved to Oyster Point, now downtown Charleston. This new settlement had greater appeal as a seaport due to the deep waters of the Ashley and Cooper rivers.
A
bridge, conjectured in Stanley South's 1969 archaeological report, connected
Albemarle Point to a section of land across Old Town creek to the south of the
settlement. Another goal of the archaeological survey of the creek was to
search for any possible remains of the bridge that crossed the creek.
There
have been several terrestrial excavations over the past three decades,
but
little underwater archaeology has been accomplished in Old Town creek.
Until now. A reconnaissance swim of the creek, conducted by the
Charles Towne
Landing/SCIAA team, revealed the visibility of the water to be about
two to six
inches with swift tidal currents. With this knowledge in hand, we were
able to
plan our working times to take advantage of the best diving conditions
possible.
With reference points established on the shore, we began the
underwater survey
by first mapping the creek bottom. Using transects, members of the
team
recorded bottom depth and composition readings. We later searched the
bottom
of the creek using a circle search technique with a stationary point in
the
river as a reference. Though conditions in the creek often made the
task
arduous, the team was able to gather the needed data.
Our search to date has yielded several unidentified metal and wooden artifacts that will be investigated in the future. Although we have been unable to locate any remains of the bridge, the search continues.
Assisting in the project were South Carolina State Park Service Archaeologist David Jones, Charles Towne Landing employee Joe Greeley, South Carolina State Park Service employees Sara Glennon and Richie Lahan, and volunteer diver Charles Lyon.
